Curse

Leena · Oct 05, 2006, 03:18 AM // 03:18

I've been pondering a few Dervish builds for a while, and the following is one of the ones I am liking the most thus far.

16 Scythe Mastery, yet to be determined levels in Mysticism and Wind Prayers, and any remainder in Earth Prayers.

Wearying Strike
Reap Impurities
Plague Touch
Pious Assault
Vital Boon
Grenth's Grasp
Harrier's Haste / Featherfoot Grace
Resurrection Signet

From what I have seen of the Dervish skills, I do not see any real spike potential in them, save for a tad bit of elemental AoE. In terms of using their scythe, however, I see one thing they can do better than the other professions as of this point - spamming Deep Wound. Wearying Strike recharges in two seconds and Wounding Strike recharges in three. They are also good at pressure, with their potentially high damage scythe attacks. But now, how to put that to best use...

The short skills combo listed on the official Guild Wars web site interested me greatly, for its potential to prevent an opponent from escaping the Dervish, and thereby allowing the Dervish to pressure the opponent more. I realized that the preorder scythe grants a potential route around using Grenth's Fingers, and started building from there.

This build works by first casting Grenth's Grasp and Vital Boon on yourself. When you reach an opponent, hit your target with Wearying Strike. Once you hit, use Plague Touch to throw the Weakness on you onto your opponent. Now, they have been inflicted with Cripple, Deep Wound and Weakness - they cannot move away from you quickly, they have less health and gain less healing, and have mediocre attack damage. From here, attack the target normally using Wearying Strike as needed to reapply conditions. Reap Impurities synergizes quite well with this build, giving you extra damage and a useful self-heal. Pious Assault will do the same, and will give you back energy and health when used with (primarily) Vital Boon and Grenth's Grasp on you.

I feel the need for a run buff with most melee-focused builds, so Harrier's Haste seems a natural choice. Featherfoot Grace is also an option, but I am concerned that it might pose energy management issues...and this build already has sufficient condition removal.

The only real weaknesses I see (besides the notable weakness of Dervishes to enchantment removal) are a lack of any spike potential and reliance upon a weapon that deals cold damage. Grenth's Fingers could always be put in in place of a resurrect or Harrier's Haste, but I feel that pretty much all of the skills for this build are needed (though a resurrect is debatable). Heart of Fury would do well to increase the pressure this build can inflict, but you come across the same problems with skill management.

So, I turn this over you folks. I appreciate any recommendations or thoughts you might have.

Thank you in advance!